Today in health, it we're going to take a look at virtual nursing. A lot of conversations over the last couple of weeks, nurses are taking a more prominent role. In how technology gets deployed within health systems. My name is bill Russell. I'm a former CIO for a 16 hospital system. And create, or this week health. Instead of channels and events dedicated to transform health care, one connection at a time. We want to thank our show sponsors who are investing in developing the next generation of health leaders. Short tests are decide parlance, certified health, notable and service. Now check them out at this week. health.com/today. Share this podcast with a friend or colleague, you said it's the foundation for daily, weekly discussions on the topics that are relevant to you and the industry. They can subscribe wherever you listen to podcasts. By the way, check out our website this week. health.com/news. We are getting ready to launch something it's in private access right now. Feel free to hit it and give me your comments on what you think that's, where I'm pulling all these new stories from. If I talk about a new story it's on there. All right today, we're going to take a look at, , an article Joey Manassas from CTO. It operations in emerging technologies, Akron children's hospital. Had this on health system, cio.com. Click for care. How virtual nursing is improving outcomes. Let me give you a couple of excerpts here. The nursing profession is increasingly embracing new technologies and virtual health capabilities to transform an augment patient care. From remote monitoring to telehealth consults, virtual nursing innovations are poised to revolutionize how patients connect. To quality nursing expertise, several technologies allow nurses to monitor. Assess educate and engage patients anytime, anywhere. Remote patient monitoring through wearable devices and sensors enables continuous tracking of health data, and early interventions. Without an office visit telehealth platforms, empower nurses to conduct virtual appointments. Follow-ups. And mental health consults through video chat services. Artificial intelligence is also beginning to augment human capabilities through AI assisted diagnostics. Analytics and reference tools. Simulation training provides realistic scenario. Preparation that standardizes experience for nursing students. Robots even allow nurses to take vitals and visually evaluate patients from afar. These technologies are driving greater efficiency, access and coordination patients beyond the reach of nursing professionals can now connect with them virtually rural areas and home bound. And those lacking mobility can tap into expertise without the need to travel virtual whiteboards and care coordination platforms also allow nurses to streamline collaboration across care settings.

So a lot of great stuff in this article. And, , I appreciate Joey bringing this up a great topic. I had the opportunity last week to be at a healthcare to healthcare event, which is CDWs. Event for their clients. It was down in Scottsdale, Arizona. We had a chance to visit with HonorHealth. There will be some episodes coming out. , I did some interviews, they set up a command center. And, , in that command center, they also have virtual nursing. And we got a chance to look at that. One of the conversations I found really interesting in that group, and I'm not sharing out of school. This is a pretty common conversations that are happening. , is the adoption of these technologies? What does it take to actually sell these technologies into healthcare? And what does it take to actually get them? Adopted. , there were several technology leaders I talked to at the health conference, which also happened last week. And. And they were saying how important it was to start the sale with the nurses. I found that interesting as well. I think we've entered a new era, a new time where we are actually starting projects where we should start that, which is we are beginning with the end in mind. We were beginning with implementation in mind. And saying, okay, who is going to use this technology? What are the outcomes we wish to produce with this technology? And who is going to be responsible for those outcomes. And we're starting the conversations with those people. And in many cases, Those people are nurses and the nurses are starting to weigh in on the technology solutions that are being implemented and start a project without nurse. Without consulting your nurses at your own risk, because not only can they bring technology into the environment in a very big way, because I don't think nurses are standing in the way of technology. I just think they are very pragmatic. How is it going to be used? How are, how is it integrated into the workflow? How is it going to help us get our job done? How are we going to transition from what we're doing today, to what we're doing? These are, these are real questions that nurses are going to ask you, and you need to have answers for. , with that being said, if you decide to take the old route, which is, Hey, we've got some technology for you here, we bought it and we need you to implement it. , you're doing that at your own risk because nurses can stop these things. It's funny on these. , communication systems that we've put in over the years. , four nurses communicate and, and communication across, , the various, , various words within the, within the hospital. It's amazing. How many of those failed? Because we came in and said, Hey, here's the device for you, nurses to carry. And they just looked at us like I'm not carrying that device or, Hey, here's this device. And. , you know, it's even easy to carry. It's actually just, it's a little badge that just, you know, snaps on and away you go, but they use it a little bit and then realize, you know what, this th th this isn't configured correctly. It doesn't get the message to the right person when I need to get it to them.

It's actually easier for me to walk down the hall and talk to that person. Or it's easier for me to go to a terminal and type some things in. Again, Nurses are pragmatic users of technology. They're great. From that perspective, they will tell you exactly what they want and they will tell you exactly how they want to use it. And they will tell you exactly what they want to have happen as a result of using it. They are fantastic. Engage them. Get them, , get them. Involved early on in the process, get their feedback. It'll help you from making a lot of mistakes and it'll get the project started on the right foot. , there's a lot of other stuff I want to talk about with regard to this, but, , that's really enough for today. I think this virtual nursing trend. , is, is going to continue. I think nurses are going to be huge adopters of technology, especially because there's a shortage. And quite frankly, they want to get home and see their family as well. I think we're seeing a lot of different nursing kind of models. That are being brought to the forefront because we do have shortages. I think we're being more flexible because of burnout with nurses. And so you have some nurses who are only working certain hours. You have some nurses who have decided to be floaters because that's just the kind of lifestyle they, they would rather have. They'd rather work in different. , environments from day to day. And so you have floater pools that are created to accommodate them. And I think you're going to see a bunch of nurses who are going to be monitoring from afar. They might even choose to be in one of those, , command centers and caring for people that way. You're going to see, , essentially some nurses who are ending. Or nearing the end of their career, who are going to want to pass their knowledge along. But they quite frankly, being a nurse is very physically intensive. They still have the knowledge to be a nurse, but they may not have the strength to be a nurse. And in those cases, I think there's a lot of cases. , there's a lot of opportunity. To set those nurses up to pass their knowledge along. In by utilizing some of the virtual technologies that we have so exciting times to be a nurse, exciting times to be in technology. And, , use your nurses, tap into them, use their knowledge, their expertise. And their enthusiasm and energy for technology. I think it's a great way to start a project. All right. That's all for today. Don't forget. Share this podcast with a friend or colleague. Keep the conversation going. We want to thank our channel sponsors who are investing in our mission to develop the next generation of health leaders. Short test artist, site par Lance certified health, notable and 📍 service. Now check them out at this week. Health. Dot com slash today. Thanks for listening. That's all for now.